Chairperson of the Property Management Services Authority (PMSA), Tony TSE, published the new PMSA blog post today and revealed that since the property management industry licensing regime (licensing regime) came into operation in August 2020, the PMSA has issued over 6,000 Property Management Practitioner (PMP) and Property Management Company (PMC) licences, whereby formal PMP and PMC licences account for around 60%, while provisional PMP licences account for around 40%. Chairperson TSE also delivered his Lunar New Year message and expressed his gratitude to frontline property management (PM) practitioners for remaining steadfast in their duties during the pandemic and for their contributions in combating the epidemic, which deserved commendation.
Chairperson TSE said, “I wish all Hong Kong citizens and PM industry practitioners good health with tiger-like courage and vigour in the Year of the Tiger, keep strong in adversity and work hard together for the future development of Hong Kong.
In the year ahead, the PMSA will adopt a three-pronged approach by implementing the regulatory licensing regime, setting standards for integrity and encouraging a culture of continuous learning through collaboration with different Government departments, public bodies and industry associations so as to galvanize efforts in enhancing the status and professionalism of the PM industry.”
Implementing the Licensing Regime
Under the licensing regime, all PMCs providing properties (subject to deeds of mutual covenant) in Hong Kong with more than one category of prescribed PM services, as well as PMPs designated for managerial or supervisory roles in such PMCs for providing PM services, must hold valid PM licence starting from 1 August 2023 in order to continue to provide PM services in accordance with the law.
The completion of the first half of the three-year transitional period (up till the end of July 2023) marks the progress towards a new milestone of professionalism and quality for the PM industry in Hong Kong. On the other hand, PMCs and PMPs should seize the time left to apply for licence within the transitional period soonest possible.
The PMSA expects most PMCs to submit their licence applications in the coming 18 months. If the PMSA receives a large number of applications in a short period of time or near the end of the transitional period, that will pose substantial pressure onto the processing of applications and thus affect the progress. If certain PMCs provided incomplete information or failed to meet the relevant criteria, then they might bear the risk of not obtaining the licence in time before the end of the transitional period. In such cases, the PMCs concerned might not be able to provide PM services seamlessly after the end of the transitional period and the daily life of the concerned PM service users would also be affected.
As such, the PMSA strongly appeals to PMCs that they should apply for licence as early as possible, so that the applications could be staggered and processed timely. The PMSA has already tailored made dedicated licensing services for individual PMCs so as to smoothen the licence application process and make it more convenient.
Setting Standards for Integrity
In order to enhance the professionalism of the PM industry, the PMSA has already issued a total of 10 Codes of Conduct and relevant Best Practice Guides covering different PM areas in order to provide practical guidance to the industry and for PMCs and PMPs to comply with when carrying out their PM work.
The PMSA has prepared these codes in consultation with the related Government departments, public bodies and industry associations in order to provide more comprehensive and effective codes to meet the needs of the industry. The PMSA will continue to issue other Codes of Conduct and Best Practice Guides in the coming year with regard to the operational needs of the industry in order to provide more guidance to the industry.
Encouraging Continuous Learning
As Hong Kong continues to progress and develop, the scale and functions of properties have become more complicated and diverse. In view of the rising public expectations for PM services and the industry’s growing demand for talents, PMPs must pursue self-initiated personal development and enhance their professional skills in order to cope with the rapidly-changing PM working environment in Hong Kong and provide quality PM services for the public.
The PMSA has launched the Continuing Professional Development (CPD) Scheme for participation by PMP licensees on a voluntary basis during the transitional period of the licensing regime. The PMSA will collaborate with industry organisations, various Government departments and public bodies to organise seminars and activities relating to different aspects of PM, encourage industry practitioners to participate and enhance their professionalism. In addition, the PMSA will recognise and accept CPD activities organised by other professional bodies or institutions in order to better complement and drive each other for the provision of more CPD opportunities for those in the industry.
“Property Management – Good Job!”
The development of PM services towards higher professionalism standard and better quality shows that PM is not a trivial subject but a challenging and diversified work indeed. The PMSA has released the microfilm “Property Management – Good Job!” to introduce the PM industry and the PM profession in a light-hearted manner. The PMSA welcomes the public to watch and share the microfilm, which has already been uploaded to the PMSA website at https://www.pmsa.org.hk/en/promotional-materials-en/micro_film_2021/.
Lastly, Chairperson TSE emphasised, “The PMSA expresses gratitude to all frontline PM practitioners who have been standing at the forefront of fighting the virus and doing their utmost to maintain properties clean and hygienic, in order to reduce the risk of virus spreading in the community and to safeguard public health. Their contributions deserve our recognition.”
The PMSA will publish new blog post from time to time to provide the public with information about the PMSA and the industry so that the public can learn more about the work of the PMSA and the operation of the PM profession. To read the full blog post, please visit “How Special in PM”: https://www.pmsa.org.hk/tc/information-centre/blogs/pmsa_20220207/ (Chinese Only).
Ends/Monday, 7 February 2022
Issued at HKT 17:00
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